Protective cover for a jet engine



p 1957 G. A. DAVIES PROTECTIVE COVER FOR A JET ENGINE 5 Shee'ts-Sheet 14 Filed 001.. 11, 1956 INVEYNTOR.

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Sept. 3, 1957 G. A. DAVIES PROTECTIVE COVER FOR A JET ENGINE 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed 061.- ll, 1956 64.1 M c n,

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G'OBGE A fiV/[S BY wbvLL- United States Patent '5 PROTECTIVE COVER FOR AJET ENGINE George A. Davies, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application October 11, 1956, Serial No. 615,438

4 Claims. (Cl. 150-52) (Granted under Title 35, U. S. Code (1952), sec.266') The invention described herein may be manufactured and. used by orfor the United States Government for governmental purposes withoutpayment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to a protective cover for a jet engine and, moreparticularly, to a transparent cover of substantially imperviousmaterial for a jet engine.

In shipping a jet engine, it is desired to protect the engine from dustand corrosion, for example, and from contact damage. Another problem inshipping jet engines is that they have a tendency to seep or drip thepreservative compounds and lubricative oils and fuels to some degree.These residual wastes tend to contaminate the area in which the jetengine is transported or stored. In shipment of jet engines, there is atendency by some of the handlers not to realize the fragile nature ofthe jet engine whereby parts of the engine are damaged due to this lackof knowledge of the person handling the jet engine because the handleris not able to see the fragile parts unless the cover is transparent.The present invention satisfactorily solves these problems by employingan impervious and transparent cover.

In shipping jet engines, it is desirable to mount the engine on somekind of a stand such as an air lift dolly, for example. Such mounting ofa jet engine produces a problem of leakage through. the cover where themounting apparatus passes therethrough. The present inventionsatisfactorily solves this problem by employing a unique type of gasketsealing. means.

An object of this invention is to provide a readily affixed protectivecover for jet engines during shipment and storage.

Another object of this invention is to provide a protective cover thatpermits quick inspection of the product therein without removal of thecover.

A further object of this invention is to provide a protective cover thatrequires less preparation of the product for shipment within the cover.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a protective coverfor jet engines that may be reused.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a protectivecover having a minimum weight for a jet engine.

Other objects of this invention will be readily perceived from thefollowing description.

This invention relates to a protective cover for a jet engine or thelike comprising a transparent substantially impervious materialsurrounding the engine. The cover is sealed by slideable sealing means.The cover has a plurality of openings therein for the passage of amounting apparatus for the engine. Suitable gasket means surround eachof the openings and cooperate with the mounting apparatus to seal eachof the openings.

The attached drawings illustrate a preferred embodi ment of theinvention, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the protective cover of the present invention;

2,804,903 Patented Sept. 3, 1957 ICC,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 2--2 of Fig.1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along. the line 3-3 of Fig.1;

Fig. 4- is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 44 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the protective cover of the presentinvention employed with a jet engine and its mounting apparatus;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the Zipper of the pres ent invention;and

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the gasket structure of the presentinvention shown with a mounting apparatus for a jet. engine.

Referring to the drawings and particularly Fig. 1, there is shown aprotective cover 10 made of a transparent substantially imperviousmaterial. Any plastic material, which is capable of being heat sealed,may be employed such as polyvinyl chloride, for example. It will beunderstood that only half of the cover 10 is shown in Fig. 1 since thecover 10 is folded along its edge 11. The cover 10 includes a pluralityof sheets joined together by employing double seams that are heat sealedtogether as shown at 19 in Fig. l.

The ends of the cover 10 are sealed together by suitable slideablesealing means such as a Zipper 12. As shown in Fig. 4, the Zipper 12includes two overlapping interlocking portions 14 and 15, whichcooperate to seal the cover 10. The Zipper 12 includes a fastener 16that joins the interlocking portions 14 and 15 together. Theinterlocking portions 14 and 15 are made of the same material as thecover 10 and heat sealed thereto as seen. at 17 and 18, respectively, inFigs. 4 and 6.

In order to inclose a jet engine 20 within the cover 10,, it isnecessary to provide a plurality of gasket means 21 and 21a to permitthe passage therethrough of portions of a mounting apparatus 22 for thejet engine 20 without permitting any leakage between the interior of thecover and the exterior thereof.

As shown in Fig. 2, the gasket means 21 includes an annular member 23secured to each side of the cover 10 (see Fig. 2). The annular member ispreferably made of leather though other suitable material may beemployed provided that the material of the annular member 23 is coatedwith a material that permits the member 23 to adhere to the cover 10. Inthe preferred example, the annular member 23 is coated with vinyl sincethe inaterialof the cover 10 is preferably polyvinyl. chloride. Anenvelope 24, which is made of the same material as the cover 10,incloses the annular member 23 and is heat sealed to the cover at 25. Asecond envelope 26, which is of the same material as the first envelope24 and the cover 10, incloses the annular member 23 and the firstenvelope 24 and is heat sealed to the cover 10 at a plurality of points27. As is evident from Fig. 2, the second envelope 26 surrounds both ofthe gasket means 21 since the location of the gasket means 21 of Fig. 2is adjacent the edge 11 of the cover 10.

The gasket means 21a of Fig. 3 has a plurality of annular members 23a,preferably three in number, on each side of the cover 10. It will beunderstood that when the cover is un-Zipped that the side of the cover10 not seen in Fig. 1 also has three annular members 23a thereon. Thegasket means 21a of Fig. 3 is formed similar to the gasket means 21 ofFig. 2 in that it has a first envelope 24a heat sealed at 25a to thecover 10 and a second envelope 26a inclosing the first envelope 24a andan an nular member 23a heat sealed to the cover 10 at a plurality ofpoints 27a.

As shown in Fig. 7, the gasket means 21a readily permits a mounting bolt28 of the mounting apparatus 22 to pass through the cover 10 withoutleakage between The mounting apparatus 22 includes a rubber portion 29having a metallic plate 36 secured thereto against which the gasketmeans Zia bears after the bolt 23 is passed through: the opening in theannular member 23a. -A bracket 31 of the jet engine 2i is then securedto the mounting bolt- 28 by a nut 32. Thus, it will be seen that thegasket means 21a permits the jet engine 20 to be inclosed within thecover 10 while the mounting apparatus 22 is outside of the cover 10without any leakage'between the interior of the cover 10 and theexterior thereof.

It will be understood that the gasket means 21 of Fig. 2 is employed toseala portion of the mounting apparatus, which is employed forstabilizing the jet engine 20, adjacent the front end of the jet engine20. Since the stabilizing portion is disposed beneath the jet engine 20,such is not shown in Fig. 5 as is one of the brackets 31 of the jetengine 20 and the gasket means 21a of Fig. 3.

However, the sealing arrangement of the gasket means 21 of Fig. 2 with abolt of the mounting apparatus 22 passing'therethrough is exactly thesame as that of the gasket means 21a, as shown in Fig. 7.

Considering the operation of the present invention, the protective cover10 has its gasket means 21 and 21a passed over the mounting bolts of themounting apparatus 22 and then the jet engine 29 is mounted on themounting apparatus 22. and secured thereto through the bracket 31 andthe nuts 32. The Zipper 12 is then closed whereby a protective cover,which is sealed against the elements of the atmosphere, is provided forthe jet engine. An advantage of the present invention is that it allowsfree visibility of the product during moving and storage for quickinspection without removal of the cover. Another advantage of thepresent invention is that it does not seep residual fluids andlubricants that bleed from the engine at all times. The cover allowsmore damage-free movement because it permits the freight handler tovisualize how damage-sensitive the engine is due to the transparentcover and the freight handler thereby handles the engine with inorecare. A further advantage of this invention is that it is less expensivethan prior protective covers. Since the engine preparation for movementunder this cover has fewer requirements than previously usedcover-requirements, there is a reduction in the installation time andthe maintenance preparation time. A still further advantage of thisinvention is that it may be reused a number of times without anyextensive repair expense. Still another advantage of this invention isthat it may be used to protect the product for a short period ofstorage.

. For purposes of exemplification, a particular embodiment of theinvention has been shown and described ac- 4 I cording to the bestpresent understanding thereof. However, it will be apparent that changesand modifications in the arrangement and construction of the partsthereof may be resorted to without departing from the true spirit andscope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A protective cover for a jet engine or the like comprising atransparent substantially impervious material surrounding the engine, aslideable sealing means to seal the cover, a gasket member secured toeach side of the material of the cover, each of said members having anopening therein for the passage of a mounting apparatus for the engine,a first envelope having the same material as the cover inclosing each ofthe members and heat sealed to the cover, and a second envelope havingthe same material as the cover inclosing the first envelope and heatsealed to the cover.

2 A protective cover having sealing gasket means including an annularmember secured to each side of the cover, a first envelope inclosingeach of the members and sealed to the cover, and a second envelopeinclosing the first envelope and sealed to the cover, said firstenvelope and said second envelope having the same material as the cover.

3. A protective cover comprising'a transparent substantially imperviousmaterial, a gasket member secured to each side of the material of thecover, each of said members having an opening therein for the passage ofa mounting bolt or the like, a first envelope having the same materialas the cover inclosing each of the members and heat sealed to the cover,and a second envelope having the same material as the cover inclosingthe first envelope and heat sealed to the cover.

4. Means for completely enveloping and substantially hermeticallysealing an aircraft engine or the like within a protective cover whilesupported on an external ground supporting frame bolted to the enginemounting pads comprising a transparent envelope of substantiallyimpervious flexible material inclosing the engine, slideable sealingmeans for sealing the cover, and patches of compressible gasket materialsecured to the envelope and adapted to be positioned between the enginemounting pads and the external supporting structure, said gasket patchesand said envelope having registering openings therethrough for thepassage of mounting bolts therethrough, said gasket patches whencompressed completely sealing the envelope adjacent the mounting bolts.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,717,017 Feasey Sept. 6, 1955

